Overview

• Researchers examined health records of more than 70,000 women who underwent breast cancer surgery between 2010 and 2016 with an average follow-up of 7.3 years.
• Survivors experienced an 8 percent lower incidence of Alzheimer’s disease compared with age-matched cancer-free controls, with the greatest benefit in women aged 65 and over.
• Patients treated with radiation therapy or hormone-modulating regimens showed the strongest associations with reduced dementia risk.
• Landmark analyses indicated that the lower Alzheimer’s risk among survivors did not persist past five years of survival.
• Standard cytotoxic chemotherapy may cause transient cognitive decline but does not directly increase Alzheimer’s risk.